Winner of Can I Get an Amen? by Sarah Healy

Congrats to Traveler!  She won a copy of the excellent family dramedy Can I Get an Amen by Sarah Healy by posting the first comment on June 16th.  Traveler was chosen by random.org and was notifed via email.  Traveler - if you didn't receive an email from me (a lot of winners have had this problem lately!), please send me an email at laarlt78(at)hotmail(dot)com and leave a comment on this post.

Interested in this book?  Don't miss the great author guestblog by Sarah Healy "On Chick Lit."  I know I really enjoyed this novel.

Thank-you to all that entered, to Sarah Healy for the great guestblog, and to Penguin Books for allowing me to review the book, host Sarah Healy, and have this giveaway.

I still have one giveaway of several audiobooks currently ongoing (but ending tomorrow night at midnight).  See my right sidebar for more details!

Can I Get an Amen? by Sarah Healy

Can I Get an Amen? is a book that you shouldn’t judge by its cover or title. I’ll admit the cover makes me sing “plastic Jesus” to myself whenever I see it. The title made me a bit wary, but the description pulled me in. I’m glad it did as I really enjoyed this novel and found it to be a great family drama.


Ellen Carlisle grew up in a born again Christian family, but as an adult she threw off her Christianity. Her mother, a pastor’s daughter, believes very strongly in her faith. She is troubled that none of her three children embrace her faith and this causes many conflicts in their relationships.

The novel starts when Ellen’s husband, Gary, comes home one day and tells Ellen he wants a divorce. He “loves” Ellen, but as she is having problems getting pregnant and he wants children, he has decided it is time to move on. Ellen is understandably devastated and moves back home to New Jersey to live with her parents while trying to sort out her life. Once home, Ellen discovers that her parents have their own set of problems to deal with and that going to church is mandatory. She deals with life by bar hoping and meeting random guys. She also is thrown together with a nemesis from the past and meets a wonderful new guy. When Mark won’t let their relationship develop into something more, Ellen discovers that Mark has secrets of his own.

I really, really enjoyed this novel. I thought the characters were all very well written and relatable. The novel is not trying to force Christianity on anyone, but it talks about people who view Christianity as a major part of their live and the conflict it can cause when other people in their family do not view it in the same way. The novel was funny, touching, and kept me interested until the end. I guessed the major plot twist, but I still wanted to see how Ellen would deal with it.

One comment I liked was during an argument between Ellen’s sister Kat and their mother. Kat says, “All you care about is what people think. It’s all you’ve ever cared about.” I’ve used this expression during an argument in my past and it was very relevant to me.

Overall, Can I Get an Amen? Is a funny, relatable, and touching family dramedy that will keep you riveted until the end. If you would like a chance to read this novel, clink on this link and leave a comment on a great guest blog by Sarah Healy for a chance to win the novel.

Book Source: Review Copy from Penguin Books. Thank-you!

On Chick Lit By Sarah Healy (Guestblog and GIVEAWAY!)

The first time I heard my book described as chick lit, I was mildly horrified. It was my debut, my baby. I couldn’t have it sent out into the big, wide world with a label as diminishing and limiting as “chick lit.” I immediately called my sister. “My book isn’t chick lit, is it?” I asked, desperate for her to tell me that the notion was ridiculous. Of course not. That’s what she was supposed to say.

Instead she was silent for a moment. “Well, it will appeal to women and it’s about relationships and it’s written in the first person, so yeah, it’s chick lit.”

I honestly had no idea it was that simple.

But my book was deeper than that! It dealt with love and family. It tackled religion and homosexuality and abortion. It was funny and irreverent and honest, and written without any knowledge of the “rules” in publishing, without cognizance of just how much everyone—from editors to reviewers—wanted to put things into predefined categories.

Since that conversation, I have become more aware of the larger debate of which the label “chick lit” is only a part. It involves coverage of books written by women versus those written by men, and the general attitude towards the women’s fiction genre. I’ve had lots of quiet moments to think about what it meant for me as a writer to publish the sorts of books that tended to carry a stigma; to formulate an appropriate answer to the question, “So what do you write?”

Here’s what I’ve decided I’m going to say:

I write books for women like me: women who drink whiskey and like clean sheets. I write for women who read to their kids before bed; for women who shave their legs and who laugh at dirty jokes and love their crazy mothers. I write for women who read Vogue and McSweeney’s, People and the New York Times. I write for women who want to show you just how smart they are; who have opinions and don’t ask for their dressing on the side and are less cynical than they want you to know.

I am going to say that I write chick lit. Great, surprising chick lit.

Thank-you for such a wonderful and insightful guest blog Sarah Healy.  As a reader and lover of "chick lit" myself, I can tell you that you have written a fabulous book that I'm sure readers of this blog will enjoy. - Laura

For more about Sarah Healy check out these links:

http://www.sarah-healy.com/

http://www.facebook.com/sarahhealyauthor

https://twitter.com/#!/SarahEHealy

Summary of Can I Get An Amen from the Publisher (Penguin Books):

When the last thing you want is the one thing you need, you've got to have a little faith....


Growing up, Ellen Carlisle was a Christian: She went to Jesus camp, downed stale Nilla Wafers at Sunday school, and never, ever played with Ouija boards. Now, years later, when infertility prevents her from giving her ambitious attorney husband a family, she finds herself on the brink of divorce, unemployed, and living with her right-wing, born-again Christian parents in her suburban New Jersey hometown. There the schools are private, the past is public, and blessings come in lump sums.

Then Ellen meets a man to whom she believes she can open her heart, and she begins to think that maybe it’s true that everything happens for a reason—until all that was going well starts going very badly and Ellen is finally forced to dig deep to find her own brand of faith.

I was first intrigued by this novel when I was sent this great video about Sarah Healy and Can I Get an Amen: 

Giveaway Details
Penguin Books has graciously offered a giveaway of one copy of Can I Get an Amen by Sarah Healy.

If you would like to win a copy of this book please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the this book.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a monte carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday June 29, 2012.

Please make sure to check the first week of July to see if you are a winner.  I send emails to the winner but lately I have been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!